points by psd1 3 days ago | 0 comments
That's technically cool; many nerds don't appreciate the wizardry that exists in finance. But this is really an ethical discussion. The "more people" are still the richest members of society, and society is far from fully meritocratic. Should we allow inequality to increase unchecked?
I can see arguments that the Walton family deserves to be ludicrously rich. I don't see why they should have access to tax avoidance strategies unavailable to Bertie the Janitor. I also don't see why someone merely Porsche-rich should have access to those, either.
I think you would appreciate how this contributes to it, Bertie the Janitor should be able to use their kitchen table, furniture and objects around them as collateral too. This is the direction it’s all going as all the frictions to trade, liquidity and price discovery go away.
Regarding tax, the state is not a responsible spender with a balanced budget, its services are paid for by its bonds and the tax is one of many revenue sources to pay the interest the state owes. I’m writing that to point out that the ire is put towards the wrong participants. It doesn’t make sense to ask why we aren’t getting taken from equally, when why are we being taken from at all is also valid.
Driving one town over to pay a lower gas or sales tax is equally weighted as all other tax avoidance
Regarding the payments themselves, this strategy does involve paying the banks interest. As far as convenience goes in this article’s behavior, you’re either paying the government or you’re paying the bank. This is normal enough for me not to really have I guess the vitriol about it.
I see the different ways that people think about it, but it hasnt solved the state’s own borrowing and spending problem, and usually doesnt address that at all. They just want others to feel the same pain they feel, which doesnt make sense to me. I would be more aligned with proposals to address the state’s spending.